Within the hydrography, many types of equipment are used. These are used to record data, data processing and data presentation.

To obtain data from the (sea) soil, special equipment is often used. There are several ways to get data, the most common is the (single beam) echolood. Something sophisticated is a multibeam echolood, while simultaneously measuring multiple beams the depth. A side scan sonar is widely used to detect objects on the water floor. In shallow water, acoustic sweeping is used.

A tide meter is also needed to refer the measured depth of water to the correct level, such as Normal Amsterdams Peil. A sound speed meter is a device that measures the speed of sound in the water, which is necessary to use echolods properly (otherwise the depths are recorded incorrectly). Because it is measured from a boat, a hydrograph often suffers from fog and wave stroke. Those aspects are compensated by a motion compensator.

The depths that are measured must be recorded in the right place. If a depth is measured at a particular location then that location must be linked to a position, using, for example, GPS or RTK.

At deeper depths, too, work often needs to be done. For example, when constructing a pipeline or checking it. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is then handy. This equipment acts like a kind of robot. To be able to measure even deeper under the seabed, a parametric echo sounder is a useful system. This is an echolood that can look deeper into the soil through low frequencies than a normal system, for example, for searching for sand for dredging projects.

Eventually, the obtained data must be elaborated. Special software helps to process the data. The final presentation of the data takes place with geographic information systems and by means of (digital) maps. Alphabetical summary of the equipment Also see

wiki